I recently viewed a private watch collection , amongst the collection was an early speed master Moon watch in great condition. The collector had recently had the watch serviced and it was found to have the right movement but it was a Tissot movement in it. Given this he was prepared to sell me the watch at a pretty good price. My question is would this still be worth purchasing for the right price and trying to source another movement? or is this a bit like buying a Ferrari with the wrong engine in? Any feedback much appreciated

 

Ferrari with wrong engine. May not seem like it right now, but a Ferrari with the right engine at the right price will come along with a little patience.

 

Depends on how far down the rabbit hole you want to go.

The Tissot movement, assuming it's ch27 based, could be used for parts down the road. 321's do come up for sale here and on ebay. Finding one in the right range for the reference might be hard, but might happen.. you could always look for another of the same reference and mash the two together to make one nice one and one donor, if you're lucky...

...and so it goes, in wonderland...

Edit: where's the pics?!

 

Thanks for the input Guys
Didn't take pics Im afraid but hoping to take another look this week so will pop them on. Given this one is mint condition it may be worth snapping it up I think.

 

i would pass

 

It depends on the price. A good deal would start at 50% or bellow what a correct piece goes for. That would give you enough wiggle room to hunt down the correct mechanism.

 

I would pass, but it would depend on that price, if it's very cheap, I will consider it as spare.

 

No thanks. I'd pass.

 

I'd pass unless you need parts. Regardless of how nice the dial or bezel is, it's already been bastardised.

You be looking at 1k min for an omega 321 which still has only a slim chance of being from a Speedmaster from the correct year.

 

Loose use of Mint Condition there.


How can it be mint if it's a Franken watch.

 

The seller is a very straight Guy and actually pointed it out to me. He's looking for £600, Its circa '67. Very torn as I like things right but all depends what making it perfect would cost.

 

I was referring to the case, face and bezel.

 

I was referring to the whole watch.

 

£600?!?! The bezel sounds like it's worth that!

Is this a dealer or a friend or what? If it has a nice dial, case and bezel I wouldn't feel comfortable only paying that. But even then I'd only use it for the parts or a beater.

 

Its an old collector of mainly IWC and Lemania military watches that a friend introduced me to as I collect mainly Omega, he acquired this some years ago and upon having it serviced discovered the movement was Tissot.

 

If, and only if, bezel, bracelet and Dial are in Great condition and IF they happen to be: a dot over ninety (DON) bezel, a 1039 bracelet with correct endlinks and a stepped dial with applied logo, i would buy the watch. Chop it into pieces, sell them seperately and use this money to fund an original and nice Speedmaster.

This way you can spare yourself a lot of Time. Finding a correct 321 movement within the right serial range for your case will take ages and as pointed out previously by the others, will cost you above 1k minimum. And in the end you would still have a "Franken" watch.

Btw, I strongly advise you to post pics here first before buying anything. The collective knowlege of this forum is incredible and can save you alot of trouble .

 

If it was a dealer or an open auction, and you got it for £600, then great. IMO however, if it does have a DON bezel, an AML dial, etc in average or above condition, I don't think it's cricket to pay a fellow collector £600 for this, knowing that a no reserve auction on ebay would likely see if sell for up to 4 times that amount.

The only caveat would be, if he does know the value, isn't bothered, and offered it to you for a token amount as an amazing gesture to get your collection started. Obviously if you've just met the old chap, this is unlikely.

Condition of course is king, you don't want to pay £600 either if it's a complete dog.

 

That´s a bit stringent isn´t it? The OP says the seller is a watch collector of amongst other things Lemania. I would expect and assume a seller with experience to do at least some due diligence before coming to a price. I think if the OP wants it then it is fair enough to pay the asking price or whatever can be negotiated at that moment. I would hope the OP is also entitled to something of a good deal and shouldn´t worry about the (potential) extra cash that could possibly be achieved by the seller on Ebay.

I think pictures would also give everybody a better chance to give good opinions regarding the buy/don´t buy question, it is a bit too hypothetical at the moment seeing as there are so many different values/factors attached to each component of the watch.

 

Never ;-)